the Fall of the Hunters
by ototo
Summary: the story of the hunters, and how they were brought into the covenant. R&R please. chapter six now up. finished.
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER- I don't own halo, master chief, or any characters from halo.

Chapter one-this is an explanatory chapter I will continue the story if I get enough favorable reviews.

Fall of the hunters-chapter one

Expedient Log 133247

Ferric 'Kentaree- spy in service of the holy Prophet Hierarchs

Calander log

unit 7556

45 cycles, six semi cycles

Transmission Open

Noble Hierarchs, I am returning to the holy city. I have seen enough of this species, the Lekgolo. I feel they are worthy of

joining our covenant, as they are a truly powerful race. Standing well over 10 rounds tall, their strength is unmatched. I have

seen them hunting, bringing down enemies well past their size. They literally tear apart their enemies with claws and huge

arms. They also are a proud race, never retreating from an enemy or a fight. How can I prove this more? Well, you are well

aware of their neighboring species, which the Lekgolo recently wiped off the planet in a wave of vicious assaults. We had a

spy at the final battle between the races. Here is the log he returned to the sanghelli captain.

"The Lekgolo attacked at dawn. I have never seen such strength and ruthlessness. They worked in pairs. They four legged

reluians were no match for them. The hunters destroyed the main camp in less than an hour. Curiously, they brought no

weapons, using their bare hands to rip their enemies to shreds. The leader of the reluians begged the Legal to stop, to spare

his people of extinction. He begged as his head was torn from his shoulders, and held aloft."

We must have them in our covenant, hierarch. It will not be an easy fight…


	2. meeting the foe

Chapter 2

The fall of the Hunters

Well, contrary to what I said in chapter 1, I am writing a second chapter, despite getting no reviews.

Rula 'selgamee checked his weapon. It was working fine, and he had plenty of ammo. The rest of his squad fidgeted uneasily. They were all jittery, because they were on their way to the surface, to fight the Lekgolo. Rula, the captain of the squad, addressed his warriors.

"When we formed the covenant, we made an oath."

"Hail the forerunner, purge the unworthy." Replied his squad.

"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons."

"Even to our dying breath."

"The Lekgolo are fierce and relentless. Stay together, and watch your back. Only combined fire will bring them down. Stay alert, and do not fear death."

"20 units to dirt, sergeant." Said the pilot. "Make sure your squad is ready; this is gonna be a fast drop-off.

"Chieftain! Enemy aircraft coming in fast!" yelled Nauru.

"I see. Ready our warriors. We will meet them on the battlefield. And tell our artillery teams, too. We'll have a little surprise waiting for them" said the Lekgolo chief, Horu.

"This is drop ship 7, calling all assault craft. Report in.

Rula's pilot keyed the com speaker.

"Drop ship 3, reporting in. approaching surface now." Then another pilot came in on the com net. His voice was filled with panic and fear.

"This is drop ship 5! We are under fire! Repeat! We are under fire! The LZ is h-AHHH!"

Rula swore under his breath. The Lekgolo weren't supposed to have weapons. They weren't supposed to know they were coming. What had happened? How did they not know that the Lekgolo were this advanced?

"Two to dirt! Prepare to drop!" Yelled the pilot suddenly.

"Let's go!" yelled Rula.

"Here we go! Kill some for me, boys!" the pilot yelled. Rula's squad jumped out of the drop ship.

Rula immediately noticed a group of Lekgolo hidden in the trees. They carried strange tubes on their shoulders, which seemed to spit flames. Rula then saw a projectile that had been fired from one of the tubes crash into one of the drop ships. A huge explosion rocked the aircraft, and it plummeted to the ground. A few sanghelli crawled out of the crashed drop ship, and joined the battle.

"Squad! We need to take out those Lekgolo! Advance on their position, keep up a steady fire. Reload at reasonable times, and aim well!" Rula roared over the com.

His team clicked their acknowledgement lights, and carried out his orders. The Lekgolo dropped their rocket tubes and dove for cover. One of them wasn't quick enough, and fell with several holes in his battle armor. Rula heard an angry roar, and saw one of the aliens run out from cover and charge his squad.

"Take it out, before it reaches us!" Yelled Rula. The entire squad fired on the charging alien. Shot after shot penetrated the armor, but it continued to charge. Rula watched as one squad mate took aim and shot its arm clear off. It only howled louder and ran faster. It reached the squad position and punched one of the sanghelli. The squad member went flying and landed…….20 meters away. Rula fired frantically at the seemingly unstoppable alien. It changed its course and charged right at him. Most sanghelli would flee at the sight of 12 foot high monster running straight at him. But the hardcore warrior instead went down on one knee, took aim, and fired a three round burst. The three projectiles flew through the air, and impacted in the Lekgolo's throat. The alien gave out a surprisingly soft wail, and toppled. It lay on the ground, gurgling as its life slowly drained away. Rula spat on the corpse, and joined another battle that had begun.

More to come, when I get around to it!


	3. attack!

OMG TEH CHAPTER 3

i just wanna thank everyone who reviewed my previous chapter. i also want to note that this is set before the covenant had plasma weapons or shields. all they have is standard armour and projectile weapons (like humans have).

Chapter Three- The Fall of the unters

Rula and his team ran towards where the hunters with rocket tubes were.He stopped at a good distance, however, because he knew that getting into close quarters would be nothing less than suicide.

"Open fire!" Rula yelled into the comm. His squad began firing short bursts at the trees where the Lekgolo were hiding. most of the alienssuddenly turned and ran, butone pair of Lekgolo stood and hefted their weapons into a firing position.  
"Break for cover! They're preparing to fire!"Rulascreamed into his comm. The squad ofSanghellibrokeand dove away astwo rockets zoomed past where they stood seconds ago. Rula saw the Lekgolo were reloading, andtook his chance.He had to actquickly.The Sanghelli captain lifted his gun and took aim...down the barrelof oneof the rocket tubes. the Lekolo lifted its weapon and prepared to fire. Rula quickly fired. the rocket exploded inside its launcher, throwing the two huge aliens off their feet. Rula's squad quickly fired at the fallen enemies, and both were killed. The captain sighed in relief.

"Good work, Team. Let's move out." The squad reloaded and left, gripping the barrels of their weapons tightly.

Rula and his team of Sanghelli heard a short burst of gunfire, followed by a panicked yell.

"Retreat! All units are ordered to fall back!"

"Guns out, team! we got work to do!" Rula said over the comm. They ran to where the noise had come from, and found a small squad of Sanghelli hiding behind a heap of rubble.

"Rula 'Selgamee! Thank the forrunners you are here! We've lost half our squad to the Lekgolo. We ran into a warrior group. They were outfitted with combat weapons. They decimated us, we are all that is left of Team 9."

"Stick with us. We don't plan to die out here either." said Rula.

A loud crash rang out, and they all dove for cover.

"They're here! We must fight them!" said the Captain. "Load up and prepare for a fight."

sorry for the abrupt ending, i promise i'll continue it soon.


	4. assault

Well, here it is. The huge fight chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The fall of the Hunters

Rula stood and peered into the forest. He couldn't see any enemies anywhere. As far as he knew, nothing was out there. Then he saw something. A huge, dim outlined figure in the fog that had sunk into the forest. It was a familiar shape. "Lekgolo" Rula whispered.

"Lekgolo! Approaching from over here." He said quietly to the other Sanghelli. They nodded grimly and readied their weapons.

The captain Sanghelli watched the aliens approach. He had never truly recognized their size. They were huge, standing at full height. He silently counted them. 15, 16…. 20 aliens in total. All of them carried something over their claws, a gauntlet of sorts. He squinted, trying to see what they were. They were metal coverings for their own claws. Great, Armour upon Armour. Thought Rula.

"All sanghelli, firing stance. Do not fire until I say so. We are gonna catch them by surprise, take as many out when they aren't ready." Rula spoke quietly into the comm. his order was acknowledged by several lights. But as the captain returned his gaze to the Lekgolo, it was clear something was different. They were splitting up. No, organizing. He watched, fascinated. Two pairs hung back on the left and right. Another stayed to the back. But what next? Rula got his answer. The two front aliens roared a battle yell, and charged. The rest of the aliens followed, keeping their diamond formation.

"BREAK! WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED! ALL SANGHELLI BREAK FOR COVER!" Rula yelled into the comm. instantly they scattered, but two sanghelli hung back to give cover fire to the others. It was a brave, but fatal idea. The diamond formation hit them. The Lekgolo savagely tore into the relatively smaller aliens, and rula could only watch helplessly as two of his squad was killed mercilessly. Rula stood, and angrily fired at the Lekgolo on full automatic. The projectiles tore into the backs of the huge Lekgolo. A normal weapon would do little against such Armour. But Rula's weapon was no ordinary one. He was a captain, and received weapons worthy of an officer. It fired rounds much faster, and was able to use something special- fireshot. Fireshot was a projectile, with an armor-piercing tip. When it punctured armor, it released a mixture of chemicals. The hunters roared with pain as the Fireshot burned their insides. One was hit with more Fireshot than others, and it moaned and toppled over, smoldering. The hunter's partner screamed angrily, and charged. Rula's teammates were still present, however, and they set up a dangerous cross fire, which pierced the charging alien's armor over and over. By the time it fell there wasn't much of the Lekgolo to hit the ground. The rest of the Lekgolo broke up, their formation useless without the two headmen, and charged. The Sanghelli retreated, firing away. The Lekgolo quickly caught up with the fleeing aliens, and attacked in hand-to-hand combat. Rula found himself fighting for his life, toe to toe against the biggest creature he had ever come across. The Sanghelli had never seen something so big be so agile. The Lekgolo was fast, but not as fast as him. However, the giant had something that gave it an advantage over him, a weapon. This was unacceptable. As the sanghelli jumped out of the path of a clawed hand that came crashing down, he noticed something from the corner of his eye. It was a short, sharp metal pole sticking out of some wreckage. It would have to do. Rula feigned a retreat, and ran over to where his intended weapon was. The Lekgolo followed after him, growling for Rula's blood. The Sanghelli dove out of the way as an armored fist smashed down where he was a second ago. He grabbed up the makeshift spear and slammed it into the Lekgolo's midsection. It yelled in pain. The sanghelli pulled out the weapon and drove it into the alien again, this time through its neck. It gave out that soft wail that was becoming familiar to Rula, and collapsed. The sanghelli pulled out the spear, and saw it was covered in orange blood. He looked up remembering his squad. He saw two of them, laying on the ground with terrible wounds. One was missing its head; the other had a hole through its middle. Rula heard a huge crash, followed by a Sanghelli's mocking voice.

"You wish to slay me, creature? You will have to fight better than that!" Rula recognized that voice. It was Anlo, one of the few battle-hardened Sanghelli in his squad. He looked on in amazement, as the veteran was fighting _three_ Lekgolo at once. Rula took careful aim, and threw his spear. It whistled through the air and stuck itself through one of the Lekgolo's heads. It screamed, unusually loudly for its kind, and fell over. One of the two remaining Lekgolo left Anlo, and ran over to face Rula. It charged recklessly and attempted to tackle the Captain. Rula swiftly dodged left, avoiding the attack. Must be a recruit, thought rula. What kind of moron would try a full-on charge? He picked up a rock and swung it at the Lekgolo. It bounced off the head of the alien with a sickening clang. The Lekgolo seemed to be embarrassed that such a blow had gotten through its defenses, and it rushed again with full vigor. One of the aliens flailing arms clipped Rula, and he went sprawling. The Lekgolo towered over Rula, an iron clad fist held high, ready to strike down and crush Rula's head.

"No. You. Don't." growled Rula. He reached down to his belt and grabbed his weapon. His free hand reached over…. and found another gun. Just as the Lekgolo prepared to strike, he fired with both guns into the unprotected belly of the towering alien. Such was the power of the two weapons that the Lekgolo fell over backwards, unable to make a sound because of punctured windpipes. Rula stood. He saw Anlo had defeated his enemy, as well.

"Now what?" Rula asked.

"We get out of here." Anlo.

Suddenly both of their communicators crackled to life, and the voice of a Sanghelli came on.

"All ground units, return to drop off points! Prepare for full retreat of all ground forces. Repeat, all ground units return to drop off points!"

Anlo looked up at Rula.

"Sooner than later would be best."

Chapter five will be coming!


	5. the final flight

Chapter the fifth

Fall of the hunters

I'd like to clear things up before I start. This story is set a long time ago. When the covenant was new, and there were only the prophets and the elites. They don't have plasma weapons, or grunts, or ghosts.

"Where did we come from?" asked Rula. "I can't remember where we landed."

"Doesn't matter" Anlo said, and pointed to the sky. Rula looked up, and saw flocks of drop ships descending from the sky. Rula swore. The Lekgolo undoubtedly had seen the ships as well, and were probably rushing over to them with their rockets launchers. Getting out of here wasn't going to be easy. He wondered who's bright idea was to launch the drop ships in a mass. Then Anlo's sharp voice alerted him.

"Lekgolo, over there. Get down!" The two Sanghelli crouched for cover, and peered out at the aliens. They carried those rocket tubes on their shoulders, and there were at least six of them.

"They have a clear shot at the ships! We must stop them!" Rula said. Anlo unslung his gun.

"Let's get to it." he said grimly. The two sanghelli cautiously approached the Lekgolo from behind; luckily they seemed preoccupied with their weapons. Anlo patted him on the arm and whispered to Rula.

"Look. Just below the helmet." Rula saw an opening. He knew from experience how weak the Lekgolo's neck was.

"You shoot the one on the far left. I'll concentrate on the center one." Rula whispered. The two Marksmen crouched into a firing stance and took aim. Anlo fired first, Rula fired shortly after. Both of the targets fell. The rest of the firing squad turned and faced the two Sanghelli. Rula saw several of the rocket tubes lifted onto shoulders, and panicked. He saw several spare rockets on the ground, and frantically shot at them. They detonated, throwing the Lekgolo into the air. None rose. Rula and Anlo ran without looking back to where the drop ships had landed. The two exited the clearing and looked out. There were hundreds of Sanghelli, retreating as dozens of Lekgolo assault teams chased them down. Rula and Anlo ran out into the fight, eager to join their brothers. As they reached the battlefield, a veteran Sanghelli ran over to them.

"Sergeant! Thank the Forerunners you are here!"

"Get to a ship. That's an order." Said Rula. He looked out at the scene of battle. There were firefights everywhere. Rula sighed, and ran into the fray, Anlo right behind him.

Straight ahead were a team of about five elites and a pair of Lekgolo, fighting each other. One of the Sanghelli was brought down, and the rest turned and ran. Rula was outraged. Never had he seen such cowardice.

"FIGHT! STAND AND FIGHT!" Rula yelled at them. The veteran sergeant took aim at the charging Lekgolo and fired. His shot went straight and true, straight through the mouth of the alien. It fell, gurgling angrily. The other roared and charged at Rula. The Sergeant dove out of the way and saw Anlo fire into the back of the beast. The four Sanghelli, who had regained their composure, fired as well and the Lekgolo toppled, wailing softly.

Rula turned and looked in anger at the four recruits.

"Pull yourselves together." He growled. "Do you want to live?" they mumbled in agreement. "I said, _do you want to live!"_

"Hell yes, sergeant!" they replied as one.

"Good." said Rula. "Because we are getting on that drop ship." He pointed across the field. "You better be ready to run." And with that, Rula and Anlo began sprinting across the wartorn battlefield. They ran past dozens of firefights and dodged a few Lekgolo. Just as they reached the waiting ship, a team of Lekgolo stepped in front of them. "Up for one more?" Rula asked Anlo. He smiled and they charged the aliens. Rula dodged a fist swung his way and fired directly into the face of its owner. Anlo rolled out of the way as two Lekgolo slashed at him. He kicked out and caught the alien in the back. The Lekgolo turned around and swiped at Anlo, knocked him back several feet. The Sanghelli veteran struggled to stand as the huge alien raised its fist to crush the smaller alien. Suddenly Anlo was sprayed with orange blood and Rula came to his rescue. There were two more Lekgolo to fight, but both sanghelli were exausted. Then the four reciuts who were following them arrived, and with their concentrated fire were able to bring down one. The other Lekgolo, shifted it's stance and prepared to charge, when it quite suddenly exploded. Rula looked behind the smoldering pieces of Lekgolo to see that it had stood in front of one of the drop ship's cannons. The gunner smiled and saluted. Rula returned the gesture, and climbed onto the ship. He heard the copilot yell "we're full, lets get outta here!" Rula looked around in the passenger compartment, and saw one of his suad mates from the start of the fight. That seemed like such a long time ago. Then Rula felt the familiar weightlessness of exiting the atmosphere, and knew that the fight was finally over.

THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER!


	6. negotiations

Chapter 6

The fall of the hunters

Yes, this is the final chapter. Be sure to check out my upcoming fanfic, "The Grunt Arbiter". Thanks for all you support!

Ototo

The field of battle had fallen silent. Dead littered the place, Sanghelli and Lekgolo alike. A scavenger team of Lekgolo scoured the field, looking for those who were still living and recording those who were not. Saru, who was helping with the cleanup, heard a low moan. He wandered over to where he had heard it, and found what he was searching for.

"Over here! We've got another wounded." Saru called out to the medic team. A medic inspected the hurt Lekgolo.

"He's too badly hurt to move. His body organisms are mostly dead. Bring a Sa'klec."

Saru had never seen an operation done with a Sa'klec, and was anxious to see. His medical tool looked like a small jar, but the glass was tinted, perhaps to protect its contents from light. The medic took the container and set it down near the head of the patient. Next, he rolled the wounded Lekgolo over and undid the helmet clasps. What happened next shocked Saru. The medic plunged his head into the exposed part of the head, and carefully withdrew the Talgru- the brain organism, responsible for the growth of the Ret'au- body and flesh organisms. The medic carefully placed the Talgru inside the Sa'klec and closed the top.

"He will eventually return to his full size. It will take much time, however." The medic smiled, happy to save another life. He loaded it onto his assistant's cart and continued on. "That makes 79 Talgru collected total on the field, and 167 confirmed dead."

Saru stared up at the sky.

"Why did they come? To wage war and then leave, nobody gains from that."

ABOARD COVENANT FLAGSHIP IN ORBIT ABOVE LEKGOLO PLANET

UNIT 7556

78 CYCLES

"This is an outrage! Why weren't our forces victorious!" The angry yell of the Prophet of Regret III echoed through the chamber.

"We had no Intel on their weapons, or technology. It seems our spies had failed us. Rest assured, they will meet punishment." The Commanding Sanghelli explained patiently. Another Commander raised his voice.

"There are other ways to take a planet. We have technology they do not. Our air fleet. I propose we take them by threat. Tell them we have superior technology, that our majestic space fleets could rind them into the ground."

"And if they do not accept?" shouted a Prophet.

"We shall destroy them from the atmosphere. Set ablaze to their planet, in the name of the Covenant!" The four prophets (yes, four) talked among themselves for a second. Then they turned.

"The Prophets support your decision."

"As do the Sanghelli!" yelled their representative.

"It is settled. Let us hope they have the wisdom to agree." Said the Prophet of Courage. "And let nothing stand in our way…..

TRANSMISSION TO THE CHIEF OF THE LEKGOLO

"Highest Chief," Said Rolu, bowing. "We've detected another ship from the invaders entering our atmosphere. Shortly after our radar picked up their signal, we received this."

Rolu pulled out a recording tape and played the message.

"Attention to the inhabitants of this planet. We wish to strike a bargain with you. Destroy our ship and you will face destruction like you have never seen."

The Chief Lekgolo, Karu' deruto considered this.

"Prepare a vehicle. We are going to have a little talk with these intruders."

The messengers of the covenant stepped out of their ship, where the Lekgolo chief and his guards stood. A prophet, clearly the representative of the covenant, stepped forward and addressed them.

"We congratulate you on your victory. However, you will not win this war. Our races far outstrip your own. Observe." The prophet reached into his cloak and pulled out a clear orb. He handed it to the Lekgolo chief. It suddenly glowed blue, and images began to swirl around inside it. A Covenant Cruiser, sleek and elegant, effortlessly sailing through the depths of space. The beautiful gardens contained inside the flagships of the covenant.

"See? There is beauty within the covenant." The prophet said. "But there is also great strength."

The image changed again, this time showing a vicious sanghelli on the field of battle, fighting a foreign race. A covenant destroyer ship, bristling with weapons lined on the hull. The mighty honor guards of the covenant, standing tall and proud with weapons in hand. Then the ball became transparent once again.

"Join us, and become a part of this incredible majesty. Fight along side the fiercest warriors ever to live. Or refuse."

The ball displayed its images again. A planet, ravaged with battle. An alien warrior, cut down by a fearless sanghelli. And finally, a planet, its atmosphere burned away and its surface alive with fire and destruction.

The ball snapped back into its clear state.

"Which path will you choose?" asked the prophet.

The chief of the Lekgolo smashed the orb into the ground. It shattered into a thousand fragments. Then he looked up wearily.

"We will join your covenant."

And The Lekgolo left their home planet, never to return. Eventually those who remembered life in a place they truly called home passed away. The Lekgolo forgot their own name, they forgot where their race had once prospered, and they even forgot their own language. They had left their once proud past behind. And as more races joined he covenant, they forgot who they were. And all that was left was….

Lekgolo.


End file.
